


Four Times Giles Almost Told Jenny He Loved Her (And One Time He Did)

by ilovehowyouletmefall



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-10
Updated: 2014-07-10
Packaged: 2018-02-08 06:28:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 1,610
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1930191
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ilovehowyouletmefall/pseuds/ilovehowyouletmefall
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Pretty much what the title says. Pretty much just fluffy happiness.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Someone asked me to write a fic where, "Jenny calls Giles babe and then he says that he loves her". So I did.

"I still don’t… What happened? Everything’s so…"

Jenny shut her eyes and pressed the heel of her hand against her brow, as if even the dim, amber street lamps were too bright for her. Her skin was pale and sticky, and she trembled in the passenger seat of Giles’ car. 

Giles’ hands were shaking too, and he gripped the steering wheel tighter, his knuckles bone-white.

"It was a demon, called Eyghon. You were possessed," he said. He wanted to say more, to tell Jenny the entire story, of his mistakes, of his mis-spent youth, of how sorry he was. He wanted to tell her that he knew what she was going through, how exactly the withdrawl would happen, that in the end she’d be alright. He was sure she’d be alright. She had to be.

But now wasn’t the time for that.

"It knew you," Jenny said, like she was finding her way through a fog.

"Yes," Giles confirmed.

"Because you raised it," she added.

"Yes."

* * *

 

When they got to Jenny’s apartment,  Giles helped her to her bed, then went to fetch her a glass of water. It struck him that he’d never seen her bedroom before, and how it’s rich, warm colours suited her.

"You’ll feel better if you drink something," Giles said when he returned.

She took the glass without looking at him, and took a small sip.

"The, uh… the first night after can be - difficult."

Jenny set the glass on the bedside table, and didn’t acknowledge what he said. 

"I… I-I can stay. If-if you’d-"

"I’m fine," Jenny mumbled. She lay down on the bed, and turned away from the light of her bedside lamp; away from him.

"If you’re sure."

"Mm."

Giles turned to go, but paused at the doorway, a dozen confessions on his lips.

_I’m sorry._

_If you’d been killed I wouldn’t be able to live with myself._

_I love you._

He glanced back at Jenny. He could see her breathing was slow and even.

Giles turned out the light, and left. 


	2. Chapter 2

At one time Giles compared the Sunnydale High computer lab unfavourably to the library. It was cold, and sterile, and without any sense of substance. 

Now he had to admit that the classroom wasn’t without it’s charms. There was a certain brightness to the space, and he, in fact, enjoyed being there. 

So he doubted that it was a surprise to Jenny when he dropped by, just as the lunch bell rang. But her face still lit up when she saw him.

Giles felt a twinge of relief when she looked at him that way, instead of with the wary glance that followed Eyghon. 

"Rupert! How’s your morning been?"

"Slow," Giles admitted, edging closer to Jenny’s desk as the last of the students streamed out of the classroom. "Yours?"

Jenny rolled her eyes and turned to sweep through the rows of computers, shutting down programs and turning off monitors. 

“ _Four_  computers crashed today. I’ll have to rush my lesson plan for the rest of the week.” She tapped a keyboard irately a couple of times before sighing and moving on to the next station. “I keep saying we need to upgrade the operating system on these things, but does anyone listen to me?” She turned off a monitor with particular force. “And then Ryan Anderson decides that his class time would be better spent writing a virus.” She glanced up at Giles. “Brilliant kid,  _very_  misguided.”

Jenny took a calming breath, and sauntered back across the classroom to where Giles stood by her desk, listening sympathetically. 

"I swear, the only thing that’s keeping me going, is knowing I’ve got a date with a total babe tonight." 

Giles blinked in confusion. “What?”

Jenny’s only answer was a wry smirk. 

"Oh!" Giles smiled bashfully. She was talking about him. 

Jenny stepped closer. “I’m really looking forward to it.” 

"Oh?" Giles asked, regaining his sense of composure. Not that he minded Jenny’s teasing. He loved the way she made him feel, and being with her, and the brightness she brought to his life. 

"Mm hm," Jenny hummed, tracing her fingers up his chest. 

Giles opened his mouth to tell her these things. Or perhaps something more succinct. 

He decided to simply kiss her, and hope that got his point across. 


	3. Chapter 3

"Are you sure Xander will be alright by himself?" Jenny asked. 

Giles had found it prudent to stop leading Jenny around by the wrist once they reached a busier area of of the school, to avoid strange looks. And, so far, she was following besides him as he searched the hallways for Amy Madison.

"I don’t find myself particularly caring at the moment," Giles muttered darkly, furious that on top of  _everything_  that was going on, in the midst of the  _many_ more important things he had to worry about, Xander went and cast a  _love spell_. 

"I should go check on him," Jenny announced, and made to dash away. 

Giles grabbed her by the shoulder. “ _No_ ,” he said firmly. 

"I need him!" Jenny protested. "He needs me!" 

"Xander is a  _deeply_  stupid teenaged boy, and I can assure you that he neither needs, nor loves you,” Giles said through grit teeth. 

Jenny scoffed. “Like you’d know that.”

Giles closed his eyes to collect himself. “Jenny…”

He was suddenly struck with the absurd - utterly absurd - idea that if this was a love spell, maybe the kiss of true love would break it. 

And he did love Jenny. Still. 

And he  _missed_  her. 

"What?" Jenny prompted. 

"Just… help me find Amy. Please?"

"And then we’ll go back to Xander?"

Giles realized that this was the most time he’d spent with Jenny in weeks. 

"Yes." He sighed. "And then we’ll get everything back to normal."


	4. Chapter 4

Giles heard Jenny’s voice in the staff room before he saw her. 

A few days ago, that would have been enough for him to turn around and avoid an encounter altogether. But things were different now. 

Now Giles knew that Jenny loved him. 

He opened the door to the staff room, and almost ran into Jenny herself. 

"Oh!" She stopped short, coffee sloshing dangerously in her mug. 

"Oh, sorry -"

"Rupert! Hi -"

"Jenny -"

At the sound of her first name, Jenny smiled, restrained but undeniably pleased. 

Giles smiled too. However awkward they were, it was better than before. He watched her, smiling, unsure of how to proceed, but knowing that she loved him.

"Excuse me." 

Giles turned to see Ms. Miller standing besides him. She nodded towards the doorway, and pointedly raised an eyebrow. 

Giles hurriedly stepped out of her path. “Apologies,” he muttered. 

"Uh huh," Ms. Miller replied. "Didn’t you say you were running late?" She asked Jenny as she passed.

"Right!" Jenny said. "I still have to set up the lab," she explained. 

"Of course," Giles nodded. At one time he would have walked her to class. He didn’t think they were quite back to that point yet. 

"See ya," Jenny said, and began to walk away. 

But he wanted to be there. He thought she should know that.  _  
_

"I, uh…"

Jenny stopped, and looked at him expectantly. 

He thought she must realize already.

"I’ll talk to you later."

Jenny smiled in reply. 


	5. Chapter 5

To put it simply, things with Angel had not turned out as expected. The curse worked. But soon, circumstances - the Hellmouth, Drusilla - intervened. In the end, the world was intact, and Drusilla, Spike, and Angel had seemingly disappeared. But so had Buffy. 

Giles was certain that she was still alive. 

As he searched through the news one evening, in the midst of an oppressively uneventful summer, the phone rang. Which meant one of two things. 

"Hello?"

"Hi! Can you hear me okay? This phone is all messed up."

Giles relaxed. It wasn’t news about Buffy, but hearing Jenny’s voice was a very welcome pleasure, even if it was through crackling and static. She’d left Sunnydale to confer with her family once school ended, and every day without her had dragged morosely by for Giles. 

"Well enough," he answered with a fond smile. 

"Good," Jenny said, and he could hear that she was smiling too. "Tell me about your day."

"Slow."

Jenny’s voice grew serious. “Still no sign of Buffy?”

"I’m afraid not," Giles said, trying not to sound too grim. 

"She’s strong. She’ll be alright," she said with conviction.

"I know," he replied, grateful for the reassurance. "How are you? How’s your family?"

Jenny let out a long sigh. 

"Are you sure you can’t return early?" Giles asked. 

"I would if I could," she said. "I mean, I love my family, but I haven’t been lectured so much since… well, since the last time I’ve been here." 

Giles chuckled dryly. 

"It’s not funny," Jenny retorted. "I swear, the only thing that’s gotten me through is knowing that I’m seeing a total babe tonight."

Suddenly, Giles wasn’t quite so amused. “What?”

There was knock on his door. 

"Um… hold on." Giles set the phone down. 

Doing his best to shake off his befuddlement, he went to the door, and opened it. 

Jenny was there, grinning, suitcase in one hand, a large phone with a long antenna in the other. 

"Hi," she said. 

Giles felt a rush of affection for Jenny, and everything she was. 

"I love you," he said, without hesitation. 

"I know," Jenny replied smugly. 

She breezed past Giles, into his apartment, and deposited her things on the floor. Giles closed the door behind her, and turned to face Jenny. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and pulled his lips down to brush gently against hers. 

She murmured, “But I love to hear you say it.” 


End file.
